[XXXIII] There was a narrative of Abba Bitimius, that Abba Macarius related thus: 'As I was once sitting in Scetis, two young strangers came down there; one of them wore a beard, while the other was just putting forth his first down. These came to me asking where the cell of Abba Macarius was. Then I: What do you want with him? They said: Having heard the fame of him and of Scetis, we have come to see him. I said: I am he. And making a bow of the body, they said: We desire to remain in this place. But seeing them delicate and as if reared in riches, I said: You cannot reside here. Then the elder said: If we cannot remain here, we shall go to another place. I within my own mind: Why do I drive them off, and they will suffer a stumbling block?
'Labor will bring it about that they flee of their own accord. So I said to them: Come, build yourselves a cell, if you can. They said: Show us the place, and we will build. So the old man gave them an axe and a satchel full of loaves, and salt; and he showed them a hard rock, advising: Cut stones here, and bring yourselves timber from the marsh, and when you have set on a roof, settle down. But I thought, he said, that they would withdraw because of the labor. Moreover they asked me what they should work at in that place. I answered that they should make plaited work; and taking palm-leaves from the marsh, I showed them the beginning of the plait, that is, of the cord, and how it ought to be sewn; and I said: Make baskets, which you will hand over to the guards, and they in turn will bring us loaves. Then I went away.
'But they patiently carried out whatever I had commanded; nor did they come to me for three years. Yet I was continually wrestling within my own soul, considering: What is their practice, that they have not come to inquire about their thoughts? Those who dwell far off come to me; and these, though they are near, have not come, nor have they gone to others; they only go to the church, silent, to receive the offering. So I prayed to the Lord, fasting one week, that he might make plain to me what they were doing. And after the week, rising up, I went off to them, to observe how they were faring. And when I had knocked, they opened, and greeted me in silence. I made the prayer and sat down. The elder nodded to the younger to go out;
'and he himself sat to make the plaited work, and spoke nothing. But at the ninth hour he made a sound. The younger came, made a little porridge, and at the elder's nod set the table; and when he had placed three small loaves upon it, he stood in silence. Then I said: Rise, let us eat. So rising up, we took food. He brought a flagon, and we drank. And when evening came, they asked me: Are you departing? I answered: No, but I sleep here. So they laid out for me a mat on one side, and for themselves at the other corner on their side; and they took off their belts and girdles, and together they lay down on the mat before me. Now after they had composed themselves, I prayed to God to reveal to me their practice.
'Then the roof was opened, and a light arose, as if by day; but they themselves did not perceive the light. And when they supposed that I was asleep, the elder nudged the side of the younger; they rose, girded themselves, and stretched out their hands to heaven. Now I could see them; but they did not see me. At this I saw demons coming upon the younger like flies, some of whom drew near to sit upon his mouth, others upon his eyes. At the same time I beheld an angel of the Lord with a sword of fire before his hands, surrounding him as a wall and driving the demons from him. But to the elder they could not draw near. Around the time of dawn they lay down again; I pretended to be just then awakened, and they likewise. And this one word only did the elder speak to me:
'Shall we recite twelve Psalms? I replied: Yes. Then the younger chanted five Psalms, of six verses each, and one Alleluia; and at each verse a lamp of fire went forth from his mouth and ascended into heaven. In like manner also the elder, when he opened his mouth in chanting, as it were a little cord of fire came forth and reached as far as heaven. I too recited a little from my heart and memory. After which, going out, I said: Pray for me. But they bowed themselves, in silence. So I learned that the elder was perfect, but the younger the enemy still assailed. However, after a few days the elder brother fell asleep in the sleep of death, and then on the third day the younger.
'And whenever some of the fathers came to Abba Macarius, he would lead them into the cell of these two, with these words: Come, see the martyrdom of the young strangers.' [XXXIV] Once the elders of the mountain sent to Abba Macarius, who was dwelling in Scetis, entreating him and saying: 'That the whole multitude be not wearied by coming to you, we beg that you come to us, so that we may see you before you depart to the Lord.' When he had arrived at the mountain, the whole multitude gathered around him. And the elders asked that he give an address to the brethren. He, having heard the request, said: 'Let us weep, and let our eyes pour forth tears, before we go to that place where our tears burn up our bodies.'
And they all wept and fell upon their faces, and said: 'Father, pray for us.' [XXXV] Yet another time a demon rose up against Abba Macarius with a sword, wishing to cut off his foot; but since, on account of his humility, he could not, he said to him: 'Whatever you have, we too have; in humility alone you differ from us and prevail.' [XXXVI] Abba Macarius said: 'If we retain the memory of the evils inflicted upon us by men, we abolish the power of the remembrance of God; but if we are mindful of the evils that come to us through demons, we shall be unwounded.' [XXXVII] Abba Paphnutius, the disciple of Abba Macarius, reported the words of the old man: 'When I was a boy, I used to pasture the heifers with other boys;
'and they went off to steal figs. And while they were running, one of them fell, which I picked up and ate. So whenever the memory of that deed returns, I sit weeping.' [XXXVIII] Abba Macarius related: 'Once, as I was journeying through the desert, I found the skull of a dead man lying on the ground; and when I moved it with my palm-staff, the skull spoke to me. I said to it: Who are you? The skull answered me: I was a high priest of idols, and of the heathen who dwelt in this place; but you are Macarius, who bear the Spirit of God. At whatever hour you are moved with mercy toward those who are in torments, they feel a little comfort. The old man said: What is the comfort, and what is the torment?'
'As far,' it said, 'as heaven is distant from the earth, so great is the fire beneath us, while we stand in the midst of the fire from feet to head; nor is it permitted to anyone to see another face to face, but each one's face clings to the back of another. So whenever you pray for us, one in part beholds the face of another. This is the comfort.' And the old man, weeping, said: 'Woe to the day on which man is born!' He added: 'Is there any heavier punishment?' The skull replied: 'A greater penalty is beneath us.' Then the old man: 'And who are those that dwell there?' It answered: 'We, inasmuch as we did not know God, obtain mercy in some small measure; but those who knew God and denied him are beneath us.' Then the old man, taking up the skull, committed it to the earth.
[XXXIX] It was said of Abba Macarius the Egyptian that once he was going up from Scetis to the mountain of Nitria; and when he was near the place, he said to his disciple: 'Go on ahead a little.' And as he was going ahead, he met a certain priest of the Greeks, that is, of the heathen. Crying out at him, the brother called: 'Hey, hey,' he said, 'where are you running, demon?' But the man, turning, dealt him blows and left him half dead. And taking up the wood he was carrying, he ran on. When he had gone a little way, Abba Macarius met him in mid-course, and said to him: 'Be saved, be saved, you who are worn out with toil.' The man, amazed, came to him and said: 'What good have you seen in me, that you have greeted me?' Then the old man: 'Because I have seen you wearied with toil, and you do not know that you labor in vain.'
The priest also said: 'I am pricked to the heart by your greeting, and I have known that you are from God. But another, an evil monk, meeting me, treated me with insult; therefore I dealt him blows to the death.' Now the old man recognized that he was speaking of his own disciple. Then, taking hold of his feet, the priest spoke thus: 'I will not let you go, unless you make me a monk.' And they came up to where the monk was, and carried him to the church of the mountain. Moreover, seeing the priest with him, they were astounded; and they made him a monk. And many of the heathen, because of him, became Christians. Abba Macarius therefore asserted that an evil word makes even the good evil, and a good word makes even the evil good.
[XL] They used to relate of Abba Macarius that, while he was absent, a robber entered his cell. And when he had returned, he found the robber loading his camel with his belongings. He himself therefore, entering the cell, took some of the vessels and helped load the camel along with him. When then they had thrown on the pack, the thief began to beat the camel that it might get up; but it would not rise. So Abba Macarius, seeing that it would not rise, entered the cell and found a small hoe, which he brought out and laid upon the camel, saying: 'Brother, this is what the camel was seeking.' And nudging it with his foot, the old man said: 'Get up.' And immediately it rose, and went a little way on the road because of his word. But again it sat down, and would not rise until they had unloaded all the belongings.
For then it went away. [XLI] Abba Aio questioned Abba Macarius thus: 'Tell me something.' Abba Macarius said to him: 'Flee men; sit in your cell, and weep over your sins; and do not love the talk of men; and salvation shall be yours.'